Originally published: October 9, 2006 @ 2:52am PST

 

She flew away. - Jake Spencer in Jeepers Creepers 2

Another day, another sequel. This movie came out two years after the first. Back in the earlier part of the decade, I was a frequent visitor to a site out of Canada called Coming Attractions that would list just about every rumor about any movie coming out. I learned about Alien: Resurrection from them a couple years before it came out, and I read the rumors about this movie there, as well. So after reading about the movie, I was looking forward to it, wondering how they’d explain the 23 years rule.

 

The movie opens with a reminder of the rule, then starts with the caption "The 22nd Day" while showing a farm with a cornfield and a scarecrow being placed by a boy, young Billy. As he works his father yells at him to make sure the scarecrow’s secure and Billy gripes under his breath, noticing that one rather unusual-looking scarecrow to his left seems to have actually attracted some crows and ravens. What’s more, as he’s working he turns his head and almost catches the odd scarecrow looking at him. Shaking his head Billy continues to work as his father, Jack Sr., works with a post puncher, trying to set a fence. When the post doesn’t come out right he blames Billy, who denies messing with it, as does Billy’s brother Jack Jr. (aka Jackie). Meanwhile, Billy approaches the weird scarecrow, noticeing that its feet are clawed… when one of them shifts a little. Billy screams and turns to run as the scarecrow flies into the air, revealing itself as the Creeper. The two Jacks hear him and start running into the field, chasing after the Creeper who’s caught Billy and is dragging him through the corn. Finally, the Creeper takes to the air, carrying Billy off into the sunset.

Meanwhile, a high school basketball team, the Bantams, is heading back home when a tire blows. The adults get out and investigate while the teammates sun themselves on top of the bus or, in the case of the girls, grab a quick smoke (along with the driver, Betty). After calling for help and not getting any response the adults decide to limp along on five wheels (each of the back tires have two on each side). As they travel along, one of the cheerleaders, Minxie, dreams of the cornfield they’re passing. First she sees a young man in a torn, yellow t-shirt… Darry from the first movie… yelling silently and pointing frantically in the direction of the cornfield. Every few seconds the image switches to young Billy, who’s also trying to direct her attention. Finally, she sees the Creeper come running out of the field and throwing a weird throwing star, similar to the one that was found lodged in the original flat tire earlier. Bus driver Betty tells everyone to get off the bus at first, thinking they’ll be in trouble if someone comes along, but when the adults start getting picked off, the bus is their only refuge…

This movie expanded on a few themes presented in the first movie (our review’s here). The Creeper, played by Jonathan Breck, the same actor who portrayed him in film’s predecessor, proves just about as unstoppable as in the previous film and even shows a hint or two of humor at a couple points. Ray Wise, who played Jack Sr., did an excellent job as the father who seeks revenge for his lost son. He can also be seen in the original RoboCop and, earlier, as Alec Holland in the first Swamp Thing movie, in addition to also being in the upcoming American remake of One Missed Call (our review here). Garikayi Mutambirwa, who played Double D in this, previously played a character named Weaze in the Snoop Dogg vehicle Bones. Diane Delano played Bus Driver Betty Borman to a T in this movie and she’s also appeared in Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers, The River Wild, Superman: The Animated Series (playing the voice of Stompa of the Female Furies), and recently Sister Beech in The Wicker Man. Billy Aaron Brown played Bucky and has appeared in Attack of the Sabretooth, also. Jack, Jr. was played by Luke Edwards, who I first remember from 1989’s The Wizard as the video game natural, Jimmy. The late, great Bob Papenbrook (whom we saluted here) had a cameo appearance as Man in Station Wagon, who had the brilliant (for this movie) bumper sticker "I’m not a complete idiot. Several parts are missing." Finally, reprising his role from the previous film, as well, is Justin Long who plays Darry in two brief scenes.

On the downside of the coin, some of the stuff that worked really well in the first movie was absent in this one. We see a lot of the Creeper’s gargoyle form, while not as much of his human look. Also missing is the truck he drives (?!?). Even on the small screen, the truck’s scare tactics are effective and when in the theater, it actually sounded as if he was coming up behind your seat. Maybe, having left it at the police station near the climax of the first movie, he couldn’t pay the impound and towing fee?

All in all, a pretty good movie. It kept the feel of the first one, yet loses some of the intensity. I feel comfortable rating it a solid 4 out of 5. I hope that this review was informative. I had fun watching the movie again and researching the different people associated with it. Our next stop on the Happy Horror Octoberfest Tour is a classic… a REAL classic, all the way back to 1922. Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

-- by Red Hawk of http://www.happyhorror.com

Tags: horror, movie, vhs

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